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Richard Allan Tomlinson

Bassae, in SW Arcadia, near Phigaleia, the site of one of the best-preserved Greek temples. This was dedicated to *Apollo the Helper (Epikourios). *Pausanias (3) says it was the work of *Ictinus, ...
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Bassae, in SW Arcadia, near Phigaleia, the site of one of the best-preserved Greek temples. This was dedicated to *Apollo the Helper (Epikourios). *Pausanias (3) says it was the work of *Ictinus, possible (with some local influence) but unprovable. It dates to the latter part of the 5th cent. bce with an interruption due to Spartan occupation of the area during the *Peloponnesian War. The greater part of the temple is in the local limestone, with carved decoration applied in marble. The *orientation, followed also by its predecessor, was towards the north instead of the east, and the early sunlight, instead of entering through the main doorway, was admitted to the adytum through an opening in the eastern side-wall. Ten engaged Ionic columns decorated the side walls of the cella internally, with a single central Corinthian column—one of the earliest of its kind, and one of the most beautiful (see orders)—between the cella and the adytum.Less

Robin Osborne

Brauron, site of a sanctuary of *Artemis on the east coast of *Attica at the mouth of the river Erasinos. It is included in *Philochorus' list of twelve townships united by *Theseus (FGrH 328 F 94). ...
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Brauron, site of a sanctuary of *Artemis on the east coast of *Attica at the mouth of the river Erasinos. It is included in *Philochorus' list of twelve townships united by *Theseus (FGrH 328 F 94). Archaeological evidence indicates human presence in the area of the sanctuary and the acropolis above it from neolithic times onwards, and there is an important late Helladic cemetery nearby. In the sanctuary itself there is a continuous tradition from protogeometric on, with a temple built in the 6th cent. (Phot. Lexicon, entry under Βραυρώνια) and an architecturally innovative pi-shaped *stoa with dining-rooms built in the later part of the 5th cent. Flooding in the early 3rd cent. bce led to the abandonment of the site. Some traditions associate the Pisistratids (see pisistratus; hippias(1); *Hipparchus (1)) with Brauron (Phot., as above), or with the local residential centre called Philaidai which lay a short distance inland from the sanctuary (Pl. Hipparch.Less

Catherine A. Morgan, Simon Hornblower, and Antony Spawforth

(See also Delphic oracle; Pythian Games). Delphi, one of the four great *panhellenic*sanctuaries (the others are *Isthmia, *Olympia, *Nemea), is on the lower southern slopes of *Parnassus, c.610 m. ...
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(See also Delphic oracle; Pythian Games). Delphi, one of the four great *panhellenic*sanctuaries (the others are *Isthmia, *Olympia, *Nemea), is on the lower southern slopes of *Parnassus, c.610 m. (2,000 ft.) above the gulf of *Corinth.There was an extensive Mycenaean village in the *Apollo sanctuary at the end of the bronze age; the area was resettled probably during the 10th cent., and the first dedications (tripods and figurines) appear c.800. The settlement was probably relocated after the first temple was built (late 7th cent.). The first archaeological links are with Corinth and Thessaly. The 6th cent. Homeric *hymn to Apollo says Apollo chose *Cretans for his Delphic priests, and early Cretan metal dedications have been found, but Cretan material could have come via Corinth, and Cretan priests may have been invented because Crete was distant i.e. this is a way of stressing the end of local domination. The first .Less

W. M. Murray

Ephyra (also Cichyrus: Strabo 7. 7. 5), a city in western Epirus near the mouth of the *Acheron river. Here *Neoptolemus (1) landed on his return from Troy (Pind. Nem. 7. 37–9) and *Odysseus came to ...
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Ephyra (also Cichyrus: Strabo 7. 7. 5), a city in western Epirus near the mouth of the *Acheron river. Here *Neoptolemus (1) landed on his return from Troy (Pind. Nem. 7. 37–9) and *Odysseus came to gather poison for his arrows (Od. 1. 259–62). The ancient city is marked by a circuit-wall of three phases at modern Xylokastro. Some 600 m. (650 yds.) to the south, at Agios Ioannis, a heavily built complex of Hellenistic date incorporating an underground chamber was identified by its excavator with the ‘oracle of the dead’ (nekyomanteion) of Herodotus 5.Less

Simon Hornblower

Labraunda, sanctuary of *Zeus Labraundos in *Caria, between *Mylasa (to which it was linked by a sacred way) and *Amyzon, occupying a mountainous and beautiful position. (Hdt. 5. 119 speaks of Zeus ...
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Labraunda, sanctuary of *Zeus Labraundos in *Caria, between *Mylasa (to which it was linked by a sacred way) and *Amyzon, occupying a mountainous and beautiful position. (Hdt. 5. 119 speaks of Zeus Stratios but the inscriptions mostly have Zeus Labraundos, a part-Greek part-indigenous deity; cf. *Sinuri.) The 4th-cent. bce Hecatomnid *satraps built lavishly at the sanctuary, laying it out afresh (see idrieus; mausolus) and their well-carved dedications can still be seen on the site. Other inscriptions, ILabraunda nos. 40 (= RO no. 55) and 42, illustrate the political activities and policies of *Mausolus and *Pixodarus. Thereafter there was a gap in building activity until Roman imperial times, but from the Hellenistic period there is an extensive dossier concerning the interesting figure of Olympichus, who was first a general of *Seleucus (2) II and then became in effect an independent operator, like Mausolus before him. But Olympichus had to obey the instructions of, without being formally subordinate to, *Philip (3) V of Macedon.Less

Ellen E. Rice

Lindus was the most important of the three independent Dorian cities of *Rhodes until the *synoecism with *Ialysus and *Camirus created the federal Rhodian state in 408/7 bce. The city occupies a ...
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Lindus was the most important of the three independent Dorian cities of *Rhodes until the *synoecism with *Ialysus and *Camirus created the federal Rhodian state in 408/7 bce. The city occupies a prominent headland with good harbours on the central SE side of Rhodes, and controlled most of the southern half of the island. Early cemeteries attest neolithic and Mycenaean occupation (see mycenaean civilization), and Lindus appears with the other Rhodian cities in *Homer (Il. 2. 656). In the 7th cent. Lindian colonists founded *Gela in Sicily and *Phaselis in Lycia. One of the tyrants governing Lindus in the early 6th cent. was Cleobulus, one of the ‘*Seven Sages’, whose so-called tomb (a round pre-Hellenic structure) lies on a nearby headland. Lindus appears in the Athenian *tribute lists.The important cult of *Athena Lindia existed from at least the 10th cent.Less

Catherine A. Morgan, Simon Hornblower, and Antony Spawforth

Olympia, *panhellenic sanctuary of *Zeus located in hill country beside the river *Alpheus in *Elis.
There is evidence of extensive prehistoric settlement in the vicinity ...
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Olympia, *panhellenic sanctuary of *Zeus located in hill country beside the river *Alpheus in *Elis.

There is evidence of extensive prehistoric settlement in the vicinity including a large EH tumulus in the Altis which remained visible into the early iron age, MH houses, and Mycenaean tombs (see mycenaean civilization) in the vicinity of the archaeological museum.

Votives (tripods and figurines) in an ash layer in the Altis indicate cult activity at least from the late 10th cent. (perhaps with an early ash altar). The first Olympiad was traditionally dated 776 bce (see time-reckoning). According to *Pindar, *Heracles founded the *Olympian Games; an alternative tradition attributed the foundation to *Pelops after his victory over Oenomaus (see olympian games). A sequence of wells on the eastern side of the sanctuary beginning in the late 8th cent. served visitors.

Vladimir F. Stolba

Panskoye I is one of the most prominent and best-studied settlements in the rural territory of Chersonesus on the Tarkhankut Peninsula (north-western Crimea). Founded in the late 5th ...
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Panskoye I is one of the most prominent and best-studied settlements in the rural territory of Chersonesus on the Tarkhankut Peninsula (north-western Crimea). Founded in the late 5th century bce as a fortified outpost (tetrapyrgia) protecting the south-eastern frontiers of Olbian territory, around 360 bce it was subjugated to Tauric Chersonesus, a close relationship which it maintained until the settlement’s catastrophic destruction around 270 bce. In 1969–1994, a significant part of the settlement and associated necropolis were investigated by the Tarkhankut Archaeological Expedition of the Leningrad Institute of Archaeology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR (since 1991, Institute for the History of Material Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg). The settlement’s stratigraphy and size, as well as its unique structure and layout, representing an agglomeration of compactly placed free-standing farmsteads, adjoining house blocks, and monumental buildings accommodating more than one household, distinguish it from other rural settlements in the area. Its rich and original material culture shows a remarkable intermingling of various cultural components, both Greek and non-Greek.

John Buckler

Ptoion, sanctuary of *Apollo located in the territory of *Acraephnium in *Boeotia. The ruins of the oracle on Mt. Ptoon consist of the remains of a temple, a grotto and spring, and various ...
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Ptoion, sanctuary of *Apollo located in the territory of *Acraephnium in *Boeotia. The ruins of the oracle on Mt. Ptoon consist of the remains of a temple, a grotto and spring, and various sacred buildings. Excavations have found rich dedications of Archaic date, especially statuary. The cult dates at least from the 8th cent. bce, and was marked by a male prophet who gave responses in a state of *ecstasy. Apollo was associated with a female goddess or heroine. *Pindar (fr. 51b; Paian 7. f.) and *Herodotus (1) (8. 135) constitute the earliest literary evidence for the origin of the cult. The sanctuary, but not the oracle, flourished until the third century ce.

Simon Hornblower

Rogozen, Bulgarian site in ancient *Thrace (see also religion, thracian), at which important finds of beautiful 4th-cent. bce silver and silver-gilt vessels were made in 1986. Some carry ...
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Rogozen, Bulgarian site in ancient *Thrace (see also religion, thracian), at which important finds of beautiful 4th-cent. bce silver and silver-gilt vessels were made in 1986. Some carry Greek inscriptions (e.g. the name of *Cersobleptes) and depict Greek mythological scenes.